Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opening new building

EVERETT — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is set to open a new building near Silver Lake in July.

The new church at 11915 29th Ave. SE will include a chapel, activities center, gymnasium and classrooms, said Kim Porterfield, president of the Everett stake, which also serves parts of Snohomish, Mill Creek and Mukilteo.

The stake serves 4,900 people in three congregations, the Seattle Hill Ward, the Mill Creek Ward, including Silver Lake, and the Thomas Lake Ward.

An open house is set for July 12.

“Anybody is welcome to come take a tour,” Porterfield said. “We’re very excited about it, because it just offers more opportunities for reaching out and embracing the members of the church and offering opportunities for them to be together.”

Construction started about a year ago. The growing congregations have been meeting in Mill Creek, and they need more space, Porterfield said.

The new building will offer Sunday services including sacrament meetings in the main chapel, which seats 200. Many of the seminary students are from Jackson High School.

The activities center includes space for basketball, volleyball and a stage. There also are rooms for programs for women and children, and youth groups.

The building will house dinners, socials and other events where visitors are welcome, said Rauna Metcalf, president of the women’s organization, Relief Society, in the Everett stake.

The Relief Society includes woman in the church who have turned 18 and graduated high school. They have Sunday classes, and a monthly meeting where they talk about homemaking, cooking, decorating, Scripture and community service projects.

They recently did a project making craft kits and baby blankets for Seattle Children’s Hospital, Metcalf said. The Seattle Hill Ward alone made 95 blankets.

The Relief Society will have displays on their projects available at the open house, Metcalf said.

“We really feel blessed that we get to have this new building, this new meetinghouse for us to gather in, and we hope it will bless other people’s lives in addition to church members,” she said.

Youth groups in the church also focus on studying Scripture, community service projects and sports.

“All kinds of activities that enrich the youth and give them worthwhile things to do and allow them to have fellowship with each other,” Porterfield said.